Animals In PrintThe On-Line Newsletter28 July 2011 Issue

Horrifying, Laboratory Animals Rendered in to Pet Food

By Susan Thixton

(NaturalNews) Millions of laboratory animals are yet used
each year to test new drugs to be approved by the FDA for safety. While some
labs have been discovered to provide horrific conditions for test animals, most
follow the 'Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals' protocol. But have
you ever thought about what happens to those test animals once the research is
over? There is not an animal lover on the planet whose heart doesn't break a
little when shown photos or videos of laboratory test animals. It is
gut-wrenching to know that these test animals have little to no quality of life.
Once the testing is complete for that animal, what happens next is even more
unimaginable. Animals used for laboratory testing, filled with drugs and test
diseases, can end up in pet food.

According to the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, proper
disposal of test animals is as follows: "Infectious animal carcasses can be
incinerated on-site or collected by a licensed contractor." In other words, used
test animals would be cremated – if the laboratory has the expensive equipment
to cremate test animals; or the 'licensed contractor' would be the area
Rendering Facility, which provides the pet food industry with many ingredients.
Many, many laboratories that use test animals are University based; struggling
to make ends meet. It is unlikely that many University laboratories can afford
cremation of test animals. Sadly, we must assume that most University lab test
animals are rendered.

As example, the University of Illinois and Oklahoma State University both
allow test animal carcasses to be rendered. The University of Illinois website
mentions their renderer does not pick up dogs or cats. However, all other test
animals, and the diseases and drugs in their bodies, are removed by local
renderers whose end products sell to pet food manufacturers. Baylor University
website states "non-hazardous carcass waste" is removed to the area landfill;
however "all hazardous classified animal carcasses shall be disposed of through
a contracted waste disposal vendor" – a renderer. Please take notice of the
Baylor University waste protocol; non-hazardous carcass waste can be buried, but
hazardous animal carcass waste is rendered.
http://www.baylor.edu/content/servi...

Imagine all of the waste test animals at all of the laboratories across the
country, University or otherwise. Imagine all the test drugs not yet approved
for use within these animal bodies. Many, many of those test animals and test
drugs are rendered, along with other waste animal material (such as 4-D
livestock – dead, diseased, dying, and disabled animals rejected for use in
human food), and after the rendering process become ingredients in pet food.

Pet food ingredients that could possibly contain a rendered laboratory animal
would be 'animal fat', 'by-product meal', 'meat and bone meal', 'meat meal' (not
'chicken meal' or 'turkey meal' or any other specific named meat meal), and
'Animal Digest'. The FDA has determined that the common pet food ingredient
'Animal Fat' to be most likely to contain a euthanizing drug, thus most likely
to contain a euthanized animal. There is NO FDA information on exactly what type
of euthanized animal could be in 'animal fat', nor what other drugs are in the
ingredient (and in the other above listed pet food ingredients). There is NO FDA
or CVM information on the health condition of animals used in these rendered pet
food ingredients, nor the research data to know the health risk to pets. The
FDA, despite Federal law against this, allows diseased animals and rendered
laboratory animals to become pet food ingredients.

Sadly, there is no means for pet owners to know if any of these common pet
food ingredients are certain to contain the remains of a test animal or drugs
within that animal. Each 'batch' of rendered animal waste results in different
contents of the end products; subject to what type of animals or animal waste is
picked up and processed.

The rendering of laboratory test animals into pet food ingredients is simply
unacceptable. Untested drugs, euthanasia drugs, and various species of test
animals, all to possibly become part of a family pet's food, is inexcusable. The
carcasses of these test animals and the drugs and chemicals within them should
never become rendered into pet food. Please look at the label of your pet's food
and treats for the ingredients 'animal fat', 'by-product meal', 'meat and bone
meal', 'meat meal' (not 'chicken meal' or 'turkey meal' or any other specific
named meat meal), and 'Animal Digest'; feeding your pet a food or treat with
these ingredients could mean you are feeding the remains of a laboratory test
animal and the drugs within that animal. Unfortunately, many Rx pet foods
designed to treat a pet illness contain some of these ingredients. If your
veterinarian has prescribed your pet a Rx diet, you must continue using that pet
food unless the approval of another pet diet is obtained. The diet addressing an
illness must be a top priority. Please consult your veterinarian before changing
foods.

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